Chester

Chester shares advice from UK council on deafness

This month, Specsavers hearing centre in Chester got behind the UK Council for the annual Deaf Awareness Week campaign.

Connect and Communicate

This year’s theme was Connect and Communicate, so the store pledged to help support the town’s deaf and hard of hearing population.

Staff took heed of advice offered by the UK Council on Deafness, to help people communicate appropriately with those who suffer from hearing loss. This includes:

• Face the person when you are speaking to them, don’t turn away• Speak clearly without shouting • Repeat yourself if necessary• Never say ‘it doesn’t matter’• If that person doesn’t understand you, don’t give up• Write it down or draw a picture

One in six suffer

According to the UK Council on Deafness, one in six people in the UK are deaf or hard of hearing.

Nearly 3.7million people of working age have hearing loss, 135,000 of which are severely or profoundly deaf. Furthermore, over 45,000 children in the UK are deaf.

Understanding the challenges

John Wisbey, hearcare director at Specsavers Chester, said: ‘It’s vital that everybody understands the challenges faced by those with hearing difficulties, challenges which often leave people feeling frustrated, embarrassed, isolated and unconfident.

The majority of those who are partially deaf or hard of hearing can be assisted with the help of a hearing aid, but it’s thought that up to a million people who would benefit from wearing one remain undiagnosed having failed to get their hearing regularly checked.

Remember it’s important to have hearing checks as regularly as you would have a sight test, which is recommended every two years. This becomes even more important past the age of 55 when age related hearing loss is most likely to occur.’